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(F Communications/Creative Vibes)
Welcome to the dark and urgent world of Stéphane Dri aka Scan X. A legend of the European techno scene since the early 90’s, How To Make The Unpredictable Necessary? is Scan X’s first album release since Lost in 1996. One of his most notable recent works is his collaboration in 1998 in producing the soundtrack to the Playstation game Ghost In The Shell.
How To Make The Unpredictable Necessary? is primarily a techno approach to the modern dance sound. It is exclusively electronic and synthetic, devoid of any acoustic samples – instrumental or vocal. The aesthetic of the album ranges from the coarse and abrasive to the more spaced out and quirky. It is a sound that can be engrossing and trance inducing in parts but unfortunately tedious and repetitive in others.
The album begins from an interesting vantage with Outpost where two tones are played that sound kinda like two whales talking (if whales could talk). Very Jean Michel Jarre. The arousing track Higher follows with impending doom chords, a driving house beat and layered with techy syths. Higher has been the first 12” single release from the album.
The aptly named Freak Cycle, has a techy, freakish loop reminiscent of the soundtrack to an early 80s driving video game such as Pit Stop. A relentless house beat keeps you feeding the machine more coins. Definitely a stand-out track on the album if you can appreciate its kitsch feel.
Scan X funks it up with the breaks track Chaos, where synth loops are distorted and heavy on the reverb. Neurotronik is much more nefarious, where Scan X offers us a journey into a cold and dark place. The manic house beat pulls us along finishing with some pretty evil sounding pipe organs.
Phaze stands-out as a fine exhibit of Scan X’s ability to work a simple flangy techno loop into a hypnotising piece by manipulating its percussive background. Scan X’s twisted vision of a breaks track returns with Classic. The funky beat here lies beneath uplifting trance inspired synths.
Reflection is a more experimental piece, where one chord is played and the sound is cut in and out in a repetitive fashion to cause a beat. There is the occasional chord change. This is all accompanied by the hitting of a single symbol.
The Soul appears on the b-side to Higher. It has a real progressive feel as its techy sound builds up and up. The Blade is much the same as we’ve been hearing. As the name suggests, there is a high pitched sample used here that sounds a little like the chinging of a blade.
Scan X’s whales return in the experimental sounding Logic. This time they are accompanied by ambient synths and sound like they getting quite distressed. The album ends with War, another breaks track featuring two synth loops, one quirky and the other dark and bassy.
How To Make The Unpredictable Necessary? is an interesting piece of work. Its heavy electronic sound is not for everyone though as it can feel repetitive if the changes in the percussion are not given full attention which is where the real beauty in this album lies.
